A Marvel Cinematic Universe without Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury at the helm would be difficult to envision. Ever since making his post-credits debut in Iron Man (2008), Jackson has essentially served as the glue that holds the whole franchise together. Many people may be surprised to learn that his casting as Fury was the result of Marvel’s daring decision to shake things up. Yes, the MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios claims that the Secret Invasion actor only became Nick Fury after Marvel fired a slew of writers to launch a new universe.
Six years before the MCU’s debut, in 2002, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch were reinventing The Avengers for Marvel Comics with the ‘Ultimates’, a limited series that featured several reimagined Marvel heroes. Marvel fired several veteran writers and editors to launch a new universe, which gave rise to this whole new universe. Fury’s appearance was one of the series’ most noticeable changes.
How Did the New ‘Ultimates’ Universe Start?
Several longtime Marvel writers and editors were let go, allowing for the creation of the Ultimates, which featured dozens of extended takes on beloved characters. They introduced the teams of English artists Bryan Hitch and Mark Millar, bringing with them fresh talent.
As per MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, Hitch recalled receiving a call from Joe Quesada, who served as Marvel Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer in 2010. The latter pitched his plan, saying:
“Look, the lunatics are running the asylum over here. Why don’t you just come and have some fun?”.
Millar and Hitch were tasked with reimagining the ‘Avengers’, and they succeeded in doing so. When they debuted the Ultimates in 2002, there were no Marvel Cinematic Universe films at the time. The creators discussed how the superhero team might be portrayed in a modern film as a way to approach it from a fresh perspective. Hitch noted:
“Johnny Depp would have been Iron Man. Brad Pitt would have been Thor. And so on.”
The 9/11 attack then changed the tenure of the entire new universe. For instance, Nick Fury from the main Marvel Comics universe, Earth 616, was a white man. However, in the launch of the Ultimates Universe continuity, he was a black man who bore a striking resemblance to Samuel L. Jackson.
In 2015, Millar, 53, stated to Business Insider:
“Sam is famously the coolest man alive and both myself and artist Bryan Hitch just liberally used him without asking any kind of permission. You have to remember this was 2001 when we were putting this together. The idea that this might become a movie seemed preposterous.”
How Samuel L. Jackson Was Cast As Nick Fury?
In the Marvel Comics universe, Nick Fury was typically depicted as a white man with graying hair, but in Bryan Hitch and Mark Millar’s Ultimates, the character was African-American, bald, and unmistakably similar to Samuel L. Jackson. Speaking with Business Insider, Millar recalled his first encounter with Jackson on the set of Kingsman: The Secret Service:
“The first thing I said was I hope you don’t mind me completely exploiting your appearance in my book thirteen years back, and he said, “F**k, no, man. Thanks for the 9 picture deal.”
Thus, he turned Nick Furry into an “African-American,” as Miller wanted
“An African-American Nick Fury to be director of SHIELD because the closest thing in the real world to this job title was held by Colin Powell at the time. I also thought Nick Fury sounded like one of those great, 1970s Blaxploitation names and so the whole thing coalesced for me into a very specific character..”
Samuel L. Jackson was the first person that Millar and Hitch thought of as someone who would fit this new version of Nick Fury. As of 2023, Fury had made appearances in eleven MCU movies, starting with Iron Man (2008)’s post-credits scene.
Additionally, he made two appearances in the 2013–14 season of the television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He plays the lead character in the 2023 miniseries Secret Invasion, which sets up the plot for the upcoming movie The Marvels, in which Jackson’s Fury is expected to make a comeback.
Stream Secret Invasion on Disney Plus.
